In a major victory for citizen enforcement of environmental laws, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Fifth Circuit yesterday reinstated a citizen suit that charges Crown
Central Petroleum Corporation with serious and longstanding violations of the federal
Clean Air Act at its Pasadena, Texas refinery. The appeals court reversed a lower court
ruling that had dismissed the suit on the ground that it impermissibly duplicated state
administrative orders against Crown.

"This decision prevents polluters from using sweetheart out-of-court deals with
industry-friendly state regulators to block citizen enforcement of their obligation to
comply with air pollution laws," said lead counsel Jim Hecker, Environmental
Enforcement Attorney for Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (TLPJ), a Washington-D.C. based
public interest law firm. "Crown will now be held accountable in court for its
violations."

A coalition of environmental groups and citizens represented by TLPJ filed suit against
Crown in July 1997 for thousands of violations of the Clean Air Act at Crowns
Pasadena, Texas refinery. The coalition includes Texans United Education Fund, the Lone
Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and two
individuals (Texans United) who live near the Crown plant. The complaint alleges that
Crown repeatedly violated federal air pollution limits for sulfur dioxide and hydrogen
sulfide, sending massive amounts of these pollutants into the surrounding community, which
has schools and hundreds of homes within one mile from Crowns refinery. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that sulfur dioxide is acutely toxic and
can cause serious harm to human health. Overall, Crown exceeded federal pollution limits
for sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide during more than 15,000 hours between May 1992 and
March 1998. During that time, Crown released over 1,000 tons of excess sulfur dioxide into
the nearby community, exposing nearby residents to overpowering and dangerous odors. The
releases are caused by frequent shutdowns and other problems with the refinerys
antiquated pollution control equipment.

In response to the suit, Crown and the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission
(TNRCC) agreed on an administrative order in 1998 requiring Crown to study the causes of
its actions and to pay a penalty for its past violations. The TNRCC is the
Governor-appointed state agency charged with enforcing the Clean Air Act in Texas. Texans
United objected to this order because it did not contain a compliance deadline, did not
require Crown to replace its inadequate pollution control equipment, and did not force
Crown to disgorge the money it had saved by delaying its pollution control expenditures.
EPA and the Harris County Pollution Control Department also opposed the states
inadequate order. EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice also filed an amicus brief with
the Fifth Circuit supporting Texan Uniteds appeal. Since TNRCCs 1998 order was
issued, Crown has continued reporting the same types of violations.

The appeals court held that the plaintiffs had presented sufficient evidence of harm
from Crowns violations to have standing to sue Crown in federal court for injunctive
relief and civil penalties. The court also held that citizen suits under the Clean Air Act
can not be precluded by state administrative actions, but only by government enforcement
actions filed in a federal or state court. Since neither TNRCC nor EPA has ever sued Crown
in court, Texans Uniteds suit is not barred by TNRCCs administrative order.

Texan Uniteds lawsuit is based on the premise that the 1998 [TNRCC] Agreed Order
does not go far enough to ensure that Crown will not violate federal emission standards in
the future. The summary judgment evidence [presented by Texans United] supports this
premise.

"The TNRCC, under Governor Bush, tried to block and sabotage citizen efforts to
get Crown to clean up its act," said Neil Carman, Clean Air Director of the Lone Star
Chapter of the Sierra Club. "Now citizens will finally have their day in court to
seek the comprehensive remedy that TNRCC should have required years ago."

"Crown's violations have continued because TNRCC has been in bed with the
company," said Texans United Director Rick Abraham. "TNRCC let Crown continue
its violations for years until citizens took action to protect themselves. Then it let
Crown off the hook with an inadequate administrative order and left residents to continue
breathing Crowns illegal pollution." Crown was one of ten companies that, in
November of 1997, joined Governor Bush's well-publicized "voluntary compliance"
program to reduce air pollution from older facilities like Crowns. TNRCC recommended
Crown for a "Clean Air Action" award in June 1998 that said that
"were breathing easier thanks to you." According to Abraham, "Crown
got a sweetheart deal" from TNRCC because it helped Governor Bush promote his
program.

In addition to Hecker, the coalition is represented in the case by Michael Caddell and
Joe Phillips of Caddell & Chapman in Houston, Texas. The Fifth Circuit's decision in
Texans United for a Safe Economy Education Fund, et al. v. Crown Central Petroleum
Corporation is available at www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/98/98-21043-cv0.htm.